I clutch my necklace. Elvis is alive. He’s still with me. Getting abducted was scary, but it worked out fine. Even if some other alien speciesishere to take me, it’s not the end of the world. It’ll just be a new and different one.
Rose starts to slide out from under the table, but I grab her hand, stopping her. “Everything’s going to be okay,” I tell her, just in case she’s worried. I know she had a really rough time after she was abducted. When Oljin found her, she was in bad shape. She didn’t have a Harl making sure she had the right nutrition and good treatment while she was in captivity.
Her silver brows knit together. “I’ll feel better once we inspect the hatchery and make sure none of the nests were disturbed.”
“Right. Of course.” We get up together and hurry out, almost crashing into Oljin as he hurriesin.
“Where are you going?” he barks, clearly worried.
“The hatchery,” I explain.
“The eggs can wait. I want you both to stay in here until they secure the prisoner,” he orders, crossing his arms like he expects us to protest. I expect we will, too.
“Prisoner?” Rose gasps. “I thought it was a meteorite.”
“It was a ship.”
Silent understanding passes between us. That’snot good.Nobody is supposed to know we’re here.
“Who is it? My sister?” I ask, feeling queasy. I love Ada, I do, but I know what she’s going to say. She’s going to say I have to come with her so I can be safe, like she always does.
“Worse,” Oljin says gravely. “It’s my brother’s youngest son. The one who plays priest. He came to retrieve you on your sister’s behalf, it seems. He’s threatening everyone he meets with certain death. When I introduced myself as his long-lost uncle, he told me that as far as anyone knows, I’m already dead, and he’ll be happy to make it true.”
“Some family reunion.” Rose cranes her neck to give her seven-foot husband a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, my love. I know you were looking forward to it.”
I blow out a sigh. I’d rather take on a murderous younger-brother-in-law than my sister, any day. “Okay, then. I’ll just tell him no thank you, and we can send him on his way.”
Oljin crosses his arms, shaking his head. “No. He can’t leave. As long as he knows about our operation here, it’s a risk to let him go. Anyway, his ship is too damaged to fly.”
For some reason Rose perks up. “That’s great!”
We both swivel our heads to look at her. “Great?” Oljin asks, confusion swirling yellow and gray on his skin.
“He can help us with the Turning.” She beams up at him. “We need extra hands. Maybe he’s goddess-sent.”
Her husband looks skeptical. “I doubt he’s trustworthy, if he’s anything like his father.”
“We’ll see.” She grabs my hand and sets off at a determined pace toward the control center.
Oljin growls with annoyance, then jogs to catch up, moving in front of us. “Stay back from him. He’s already caused plenty of trouble,” he warns as we near the central hub of activity for the makeshift base and sounds of a scuffle are audible.
We round the corner and find several Frathik guards surrounding a lone Irran in a long, black cloak. His skin is camouflaged against it, so he looks like a shadow wrapped in shadows as he whirls, blocking their attempts to subdue him. He doesn’t have any weapons, but somehow he’s drawn blood, as black spatters surround him.
“Nephew,” Oljin booms. “Enough.”
“Tell that to them,” the Irran retorts, still fighting them off. But then his spine snaps straight, and he freezes for a long second before slowly turning toward us, nostrils flared. He makes eye contact with me, and his shadowy skin blooms into a brilliant lavender for the millisecond before all four guards pounce on him, pinning him to the ground, and his skin blinks dark like a light going out.
Rose sucks in her breath and grabs my arm. “Did you see that?!”
I did.
“Let him up,” I say. When they don’t, I repeat it, louder. “Let him up!”
Finally, they pay attention, releasing him and stepping back, though they keep a few dozen wary eyes on him even as he lays prone on the metal mesh floor. He doesn’t get up, and blood runs out of his mouth, staining his chin dark red. At first, I worry they’ve accidentally killed him, but then I see the rise and fall of his chest. It quickens as I approach, matching mine.
“Lena,” Oljin warns behind me. “Be careful.”
I kneel down beside him. My fated mate. My future. “It’s okay. He won’t hurt me.”
